Spark-check



Oct. 17, 1967 P. H. WAGGONER 3,348,013

SPARK-CHECK Filed May 19, 1966 INVENTOR PAU L H. WAGGONER United States Patent Filed May 19, 1966, Ser. No. 552,382 4 Claims. (Cl. 200-468) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The subject concerns itself with the high tension circuits of an ignition system, originating in the induction coil and terminating at the several plug points in the cylinders of an internal combustion engine. It supplies a two Way escape route with the one a work route of normal resistance and another route of somewhat greater resistance but still leading to a spark plug. This path of greater resistance leads to a spark plug in a cylinder which has just finished its exhaust stroke. Hence, in either case it is impossible to cause damage to the distributor cap. These two escape routes are at the ends of the rotor, the one used under normal conditions has a gap of .03-125". The other has a gap of approximately The rotor with its delivery of high tension sparks operates under a transparent distributor cover. Its operation can be observed with the engine running.

FIG. 1 is a top view of a transparent distributor cover. FIG. 2 is a side view of the distributor cover in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a top view of a rotor.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the rotor in FIG. 3.

Description of FIGURES 1-4 1 A clear transparent distributor cover.

7 Groove in edge of 1 for the purpose of seating leak proof plastic or rubber ring.

8 Plastic body of distributor.

9 Distributor terminal terminals for spark plug wires.

11 'Interior terminals of terminals.

12 Gap adjustments on each end of rotor.

13 Metal body of rotor embedded in plastic portion of rotor body.

14 Is the wide or safety gap 5 15 Is the narrow or work gap of rotor (.03125").

17 The rotor shaft of any ignition system.

18 Dependent outside flange on base of distributor.

Transparent cover This is a circular transparent plate having in its center a high tension terminal to receive the coil wire, and in its edge a groove in which a plastic or rubber gasket may be fitted to avoid leakage of water or metallic particles into the interior of the distributor cap. The coil terminal is passed through a hole in the center of the cover and is held in place by a threaded ring. A socket centered in the top of the terminal connects with a smaller diameter bore which houses a floating contact pin which connects the coil wire with the pan in the center of the rotor, permitting high tension to pass to insert terminals, thence to spark plug wires, and on to the spark plugs in the sequence of their location about the body of the distributor.

Distributor body This is a cylindrical wall of a plastic which admits of injection molding, having inserts (one for each cylinder), incorporated permanently in the distributor body. These inserts project inwardly in a horizontal direction making it easy to observe the spark from the rotor to the insert.

When a spark occurs at a given insert it passes to the spark plug wire leading to the cylinder which it serves,

3,348,013 Patented Oct. 17, 1967 and thence to the plug points. Owing to conditions herein later explained, no spark can, in passing from the distributor, go anywhere but to a spark plug. Therefore it is impossible for any mechanism composing or supporting the spark-check to cause any damage to the distributor.

The spark-check is designed with deep wire sockets for two reasons:

(1) It makes it easy to replace a conventional cap with a spark-check as it is merely a matter of transferring the wires from one set of sockets to a like set.

(2) T.V.R.S. or other suppressor wiring systems can be used with the spark-check without alteration.

Rotor This is the novelty in the spark-check invention. Without the transparent cover it would be of little value. With it the rotor becomes a useful and reassuring element so far as ignition is concerned. Reassuring because nobody is going to pay for an expensive job of experimenting on an ignition system when a glance discloses the fact that the system is in good health and operating perfectly.

The conventional rotor offers but one escape route for the high tension spark. If for any reason a spark plug circuit has developed suflicient resistance the spark will reject that circuit and go to the nearest adjacent circuit, thence to a plug which is out of time with highest compression. To do so the spark has to pass along the inner Wall of the distributor cap, leaving a faintly burned trail and a succession of fine metallic particles. In a very short time this cap is damaged beyond repair. This cannot happen with a spark-check. Not only does it protect itself from becoming damaged, but often serves to relieve the induction coil of excessive resistance which has a tendency to break it down.

Electricity follows the path of least resistance. For the high tension current air gaps are a source of resistance. The wider the gap, the greater the resistance. Not so often given attention is the fact that cylinder compression also figures in. Take the case of the cylinder under high compression and you have both air gap and compression working against the jump of the high tension spark. That is one of the reasons why spark-check has a rotor having two adjustable gaps.

These gaps can be so nicely adjusted as to bear nearly equal stresses of resistance. Such an adjustment would point out very quickly any adverse change in any high tension circuit. The differing values should not be cut so fine as to be a nuisance. The spark-check was not designed for its nuisance value. Rather for its ability under changing adjustments in the hands of a skilled mechanic to work in a wide latitude as a motor check-up system. It points out discrepancies in cylinder compression by the simple act of narrowing the safety gap little by little.

By widening the work gap, the spark may be intensified to the point of breaking out of the oil fouled sooty cloak on spark plugs and putting the plug back to work, even though it previously had been missing steadily.

Impoverished high tension spark tells of some primary low tension circuit being afflicted by a partial short, while a complete short may under certain circumstances cut the high tension spark entirely.

Impoverished high tension spark warns of coil and condenser break down. To the experienced observer the varying conditions and intensity of the high tension spark as it delivers to plug circuits in succession is like a written diagnosis of conditions in the cylinders, such as, plug gaps burned too wide, plug gaps uneven, plug points fouled, gaps too narrow, cylinder compression varies widely, the weaker compressions showing the brighter spark. In short the spark-check performs many services to be obtained elsewhere only by expensive electrical equipment.

Therefore, I claim:

1. A distributor cover and rotor for an ignition distributor comprising in combination 'a rotor mounted on a distributor shaft and projecting each way from its center, a transparent cover having spaced high tension terminals extending through the walls with contact studs on the inner ends of the terminals, said cover enclosing the rotor and forming an adjustable working gap and a safety gap with respective opposite ends of the rotor; the Working gap being spaced from the studs of the cover by a shorter distance than said safety gap.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the working gap is approximately .031 inch and thesafety gap is approximately 1 inch.

3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the safety gap is adjustable.

4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the cover is made of a plastic material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,598,162 5/1952 Guiot 200-19 ROBERT K. SCHAEFER, Primary Examiner.

H. O. JONES, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DISTRIBUTOR COVER AND ROTOR FOR AN IGNITION DISTRIBUTOR COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A ROTOR MOUNTED ON A DISTRIBUTOR SHAFT AND PROJECTING EACH WAY FROM ITS CENTER, A TRANSPARENT COVER HAVING SPACED HIGH TEMPERATURE TERMINALS EXTENDING THROUGH THE WALLS WITH CONTACT STUDS ON THE INNER ENDS OF THE TERMINALS, SAID COVER ENCLOSING THE ROTOR AND FORMING AN ADJUSTABLE WORKING GAP AND A SAFETY GAP WITH RESPECTIVE OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE ROTOR; THE WORKING GAP BEING SPACED FROM THE STUDS OF THE COVER BY A SHORTER DISTANCE THAN SAID SAFETY GAP. 